LOTS of GIVEAWAYS!

Whew! You can multitask like a pro—you prove it every day. But while you’re used to being pulled in multiple directions, that doesn’t mean you like it. You yearn for something more…not on your to-do list, but in the heart of daily living. Now Living Simply shows you how to make this ideal life your real life today! Joanne Heim’s refreshing perspective and pointed guidance address specific areas you’d like to transform, from family and friendships to meals and celebrations. This book responds to the longings of your heart not with pat answers, but with practical solutions. Never have such simple changes yielded such sweeping results!

Errands to run. Friends to meet. Laundry to fold. Dinner to cook. Messages to check. Calls to make. Gas tank to fill. Lists to do. Notes to self. Bills to pay. Dog to walk. Appointments to make. Schedules to keep. Lunches to pack. Party to plan.

Find Simplicity

Has busyness become your way of life? Is your calendar full to overflowing? Are you more focused on your to-do list than your family? Overcommitted to activities that send you in different directions rather than bringing you together?

You’re not alone. And it doesn’t have to stay this way.

It’s not time to start over, but to start small. Joanne Heim offers hope for claiming the kind of life you dreamed of once upon a time. You’ll discover how to choose less in this world of more, focus on one thing at a time, find ways to pull your family together rather than apart, and... enjoy true abundance!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanne Heim has been a publicist, senior copywriter, and editor in the Christian publishing industry for ten years. She is the author of several books with her husband, Toben, including Happily Ever After: A Real-Life Look at Your First Year of Marriage . She has also written numerous Bible study guides and been the featured guest on many radio programs, including Focus on the Family and Moody’s Midday Connection . Now a full-time mom, Joanne’s schedule is filled with the activities she most enjoys: caring for her husband and two young daughters, friendships, ballet, knitting, and writing.

MY REVIEW

You know, I secretly wish that I had been born in the Little House on the Prairie times... simple clothes, simple house, simple life. No car problems, broken TVs or crashing computers. No telephone ringing off the hook or repair man to wait for. You know, the simple life!

Joanne has offered simple solutions to helping you (and me) live a simple life. As I read through her book I realized that I do live a pretty simple life. Partially because for the past eight years we've been a one income family; so though not by choice always, we lived a simple life in material possessions, thus helping us live a simple life in life, time and celebration. I am in no way saying that we lived poor, but we did have our times were we went without lots of extras just to have food on the table and a roof over our heads, even to going without a vehicle for over a year.

Talk about a simple life. But honestly it was nice.

Now that God has moved my husband into bigger and better higher paying positions we still live simple.
Why? you ask.
Why change a good thing?

I like not celebrating every birthday of my kids with a huge party, house full of two dozen kids and a sheet cake that more ends up on the floor than in the kids' mouths. (We celebrate every 5th birthday with a BIG party, other than that it's a nice quiet night doing the activity of the birthday person's choice.)

I enjoy making memorable home made gifts for friends and family for Christmas presents, instead of taking out a loan to pay for them.

I love being able to have time with my family after dinner instead of running child #1 to soccer practice, while hubby runs child #2 to dance and child #3 carpools to swimming lessons.

I like my simple life and Joanne has hit so close to home with many of her points including this one that can be found on page 45:

Living simply involves changing our thinking, looking at our lives from a different perspective. It means stopping to ask myself why I am doing something and making choices that reflect my purpose.

Below are some questions I've heard one point in time or another:

So why don't each of your kids have an extracurricular activity scheduled year around? Why don't you cook big meals every night? Why don't you have decor on every wall of your house? Why are you a one vehicle family? Why do you only own one TV? Why do you make your family come to the table instead of allowing them to take their plate and plop a seat in front of the TV?

The answer for me is simple and this is how I answer them:

I feel that I am living the way I feel Jesus has lead me and this is the way I feel he has me to raise my kids.

A question that Joanne asks in her book is one that I want to ask you readers:

What makes your life complicated?

If I had to say what makes my life complicated, I'd have to think for a long time... because I am blessed to say that my life isn't complicated. For me I feel that I have chosen to include those things that important to God to make important in my life and thus I feel confident in knowing that all that is on my plate is what God has allowed me time, energy and room for.

I am not saying that I never have a day that I wonder if God is ready to allow me to send my kids to school away from home. Or wondering if this or that can be set aside for now, or for forever. But for the most part my life is not full of stress or worry or chaos or crying or complaining or frustration... I feel that I have chosen many roads that have helped me to be Living Simply, just as Joanne Heim has suggested.